Surfing Giant Studios Expands to Canary Islands, New Tenerife Animation Hub to Open Spring 2026

Surfing Giant Studios, a co-venture between Alcon Entertainment and Surfer Jack Studios, announced that it will further expand its European footprint by opening a second animation production facility on the island of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. The new studio is scheduled to begin operations in Spring 2026 and is expected to create over 100 animation and production positions, with the majority of hires coming from Tenerife and mainland Spain.

Another Strategic Move in Europe, Scaling Production Capacity for Global Demand

This expansion represents a major strategic step for Surfing Giant following the establishment of its Manchester, UK studio in 2022. Located in the Santa Cruz region of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, the new facility will leverage the region’s highly competitive production tax incentives to support the company’s growing project slate.

Surfing Giant Studios is jointly founded by Los Angeles-based Alcon Entertainment, Santa Monica-based Surfer Jack Studios, and Sleeping Giant Media. The company is structuring its European operations as an interconnected production network, capable of developing original content and supporting multiple series simultaneously through its shared Toon Boom Harmony pipeline. Toon Boom Harmony is the industry-standard 2D animation software used by major studios including Disney, Nickelodeon, and Warner Bros for television, film, and game projects.

“Hey A.J.!” Earns Critical Acclaim, New Projects on the Horizon

Surfing Giant’s first long-form animated series, “Hey A.J.!”, premiered last month on Disney Junior and Disney+. The show has not only earned an 80% critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes but also spent over ten consecutive days in the Disney+ platform’s daily top five chart for all television content, marking a significant milestone in the studio’s development.

Since opening its Manchester facility in 2022, the company has grown into a creative team of over 100 artists, with its proprietary IP portfolio and service work expanding in tandem. According to sources, Surfing Giant is about to begin production on an as-yet-unannounced action-adventure series for a major US television network.

Diversified IP Portfolio, Tenerife Facility Targets 2D Animation Excellence

Surfing Giant’s development slate spans multiple genres and age groups, focusing on high-quality original IP creation. The new Tenerife studio is being designed as a purpose-built, collaborative creative space, initially concentrating on 2D animation production with plans to gradually expand into more diverse content formats and platforms.

Recruitment for the new studio will begin in the coming weeks, with all positions to be publicly advertised and applications accepted exclusively through official channels.

Leadership Commentary: Building a Creative Family, Empowering Local Talent

Scott Parish, Co-CEO of Surfing Giant Studios and COO of Alcon Entertainment, stated: “The Canary Islands provide strong tax incentives and an experienced talent base, which allows us to scale production efficiently and reinvest directly into our teams and projects. Tenerife is a strategic extension of our European operations.”

Michael Hodges, Co-CEO of Surfing Giant Studios, added: “We have built an amazing global team focused on delivering premium content to the world. They are the best at what they do. Expanding into Tenerife gives us the capacity to grow an even larger family of creatives and support more productions.”

Both the Manchester and Tenerife teams will operate under Head of Studio Helen Brown, who will oversee production, recruitment, and talent development across locations. Brown commented: “There’s an established and welcoming animation community in the Canary Islands and we’re excited to be a part of it. We’re focused on building a strong local crew in Tenerife to complement the talent of our UK studio, creating impressive and beautiful content that they can all be proud to have contributed to.”

About Surfing Giant Studios

Founded by Emmy® Award-winning producer Jeff “Swampy” Marsh (“Phineas and Ferb”), multi-Grammy® nominated writer/producer Michael Hodges (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Garfield Movie,” “Blade Runner Black Lotus”), and Alcon Entertainment COO Scott Parish, Surfing Giant Studios is a full-service 2D/3D animation and production company with vertically integrated capabilities spanning development through post-production, music, and sound.

With studios in Los Angeles, Manchester, and soon Tenerife, the company’s creative teams have contributed to projects including “Hey A.J.!,” “Blade Runner Black Lotus,” “The Garfield Movie,” “Batman,” “Phineas and Ferb,” “The Simpsons,” “King of the Hill,” “Harley Quinn,” “Pete the Cat,” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”